


Mistletoe

by PorcelainWings



Series: 25 (holi)Days of Wayhaven [6]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, Gen, How Do I Tag, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28943874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PorcelainWings/pseuds/PorcelainWings
Summary: Lori is very excited to share one of her favourite holiday traditions with her team, though not all of them are quite as enthused.~~~*~~~"For you see, my dear Miss Hauville, mistletoe kisses aren’t just for couples.” She pauses dramatically. “They’re for friends and family too.”Morgan raises an eyebrow from her spot in the corner. Nate studiously avoids the suspicious glower Adam directs his way. And a renewed realisation dawns on Farah, her smile brightening as Lori raises the mistletoe between them both.
Relationships: Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Series: 25 (holi)Days of Wayhaven [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111190
Kudos: 3





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> My final 25 (holi)days of Wayhaven piece, and truly one of my favourite pieces to write. I can actually say I enjoy this piece of mine. 💕
> 
> There is also a wonderful commission to go along with this, I have linked it at the end of the work, please feel free to skip all my writing and just go look at that. Its amazing and I love it! 💕

“Oh, Farah~?”

Lori’s melodious voice floats down the hall in a cheery singsong. The team had heard her approach, the scheduled meeting with herself and Rebecca meaning her arrival had already been anticipated, but her calling for Farah specifically was interesting, drawing their waiting attention to the door. Close friends though they were, usually her first priority was Nate; something Farah completely understood and happily teased them both for. Lori doesn’t even flinch as she enters to their questioning stares, the bright smile on her face not dimming a bit as she makes a beeline for Farah, hands carefully clasped to hide their contents.

“Yes?” 

Farah’s reply is oddly hesitant, confusion furrowing her brow despite the smile on her face. The confusion only increasing when Lori stops in front of her with a puckish smirk.

“Tell me, sweetie… have you ever been informed of mistletoe?”

The moment the word leaves her lips the situation dawns on the other three vampires; Adam’s eyes go wide, Morgan chuckles, and Nate hides a smile behind his hand. Farah remains confused.

“Hmmm, nope.” She answers happily, curiosity beginning to spark in her eyes. “Should I know what it is or…?”

Adam opens his mouth, ready to protest, but Nate places his hand upon his arm to stop him. Lori’s attention briefly flickers to the two men, Nate appearing to have won whatever silent debate the two were having much to Adam’s disapproval, before she refocuses on her dear friend.

“Well, you see there’s a whole ‘history tradition’ thing, but that’s not important.” She waves her hand flippantly, though over her shoulder Nate briefly looks like he wants to disagree with her dismissal. Before he gets the chance, she opens her hands to show Farah the little sprig of mistletoe. “The important bit is that _this_ is a **special** plant that requires whoever’s underneath it together to kiss.”

Farah excitedly catches on, both their eyes sparkling with a shared sense of mischief as Adam levels Nate with a disapproving look for allowing whatever chaos is about to ensue.

“But wait, why have you got it here?” she questions. “I mean I love our family, don’t get me wrong, but not _that_ kind of love – that’s better saved for you and Natey right?”

Lori laughs at the wink Farah throws her at the end, returning it with one of her own.

“Oh trust me, Nate is already well aware of the _special_ kisses he’ll be getting later.”

Farah and Morgan chuckle at the obvious implication in her sultry tone while Nate coughs and refuses to meet any of their eyes, the flush on his cheeks accentuating the smile he tries to hide.

“But… you _are_ correct to question my bringing it here. For you see, my dear Miss Hauville, mistletoe kisses aren’t _just_ for couples.” She pauses dramatically. “They’re for friends and family too.”

Morgan raises an eyebrow from her spot in the corner. Nate studiously avoids the suspicious glower Adam directs his way. And a renewed realisation dawns on Farah, her smile brightening as Lori raises the mistletoe between them both.

“So…” she drawls, pointing to her cheek. “May I have a kiss, sweetie?”

Farah laughs happily, drawing her into a hug before readily placing a sweet kiss on her check. Lori smiles and returns the kiss with one of her own.

“I quite like this mistletoe thing.” She laughs, giving Lori a squeeze before letting her go to bounce her way over to Morgan, who watches her approach with a faint mixture of amusement and disbelief.

“Me too.” Lori tosses a quick wink back at Farah with a laugh of her own. Fluttering her lashes, she raises the mistletoe between herself and Morgan. “Spare a kiss for your favourite Detective, Miss…” she falters for a moment, biting her lip as she briefly thinks. “Sparks?”

Morgan laughs, running her thumb across her bottom lip to draw Lori’s attention to the deep red lipstick she wears.

“You sure that’s a good idea, Princess?”

Lori doesn’t even pretend to think about it.

“We’re under the mistletoe” she argues; as if it’s an irrefutable, unchangeable fact despite her being in control of said plant. “It’s tradition and so we have to.”

Morgan shakes her head with an amused chuckle, subtly looking over to Nate to confirm his comfort. Nate easily nods a go-ahead, the soft smile on his face broadcasting his obvious amusement with the situation. A bright giggle rings out when Morgan, having gotten her approval, pulls Lori in by her waist, pressing a single, chaste kiss to her cheek. Lori returns the favour, whispering a thanks by her ear before pulling away. They share a smile before Lori turns away, facing Adam with a glint in her eyes.

“No.”

He takes a step back when she takes a step forwards, the resulting chuckles from the team bringing a flush to his pale skin that only makes them all chuckle more. Lori smirks, the deep blue of her eyes suddenly darker than he recalled and bringing to mind thoughts of a remarkably dangerous ocean, but before she has a chance to act any further the door swings open with Rebecca’s arrival. Rebecca is momentarily confused by the sudden attention, even more so by the flustered state of her commanding agent – her confusion very quickly turns to amusement when she spots the lipstick mark on her daughter’s cheek and the sprig of mistletoe in her hand.

“Ah, I see _someone’s_ having fun this afternoon.”

Lori lets out a happy trill as she skips over to her mother. Rebecca welcomes her with a smile, laughing softly when her daughter holds the mistletoe above them both with a smile of her own. Rebecca cups her unadorned cheek, stroking the skin gently with her thumb, before leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead. Lori nuzzles their noses together affectionately in return, causing Rebecca to scrunch up her nose with a soft laugh. She dutifully avoids the team’s gazes, a faint blush on her cheeks, as she calmly walks over to the desk to begin setting down and sorting the files to discuss. Lori, having checked another off her list turns back to Adam with a renewed smirk. The warmth that had been in his eyes watching her with Rebecca freezes instantly.

“I repeat, Detective, no.”

Lori pouts, crocodile tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she heads over to Nate. He freely takes her into his arms, her own coming to wrap around his middle as she buries her face in his chest.

“Adam’s being _mean_.” 

Lori’s muffled whine makes Nate chuckle – Adam, still flushing, simply rolls his eyes.

“Oh, Adam’s being mean? Not you who hasn’t even used her mistletoe powers on her own boyfriend?”

She pulls away, hiding a giggle behind her hand before levelling him with as serious an expression as she can muster.

“Now darling,” she teases. “You know I _would_ but unfortunately my little arms can only reach so high.” He laughs at her teasing, gently removing the mistletoe from her to hold it over the two of them.

“And how about now, my dear heart?”

She presses a finger to her lips, humming thoughtfully and pretending to think on his proposal. Finally, she wraps her arms around his neck with a smile, pulling him closer.

“That works.”

His arms pull her closer still, resting his forehead briefly against hers as he allows her to capture his lips with her own. They both melt into the kiss, Farah’s awing in the background going completely unnoticed. She sighs happily at the extra parting kiss he places on her cheek while he hands the mistletoe back to her. A sudden thought clearly crosses her mind, but he doesn’t get a chance to question it before she speaks.

“You know… you’re now the _only_ one here who hasn’t given me a mistletoe kiss.”

Nate sighs at her switch in attention, preparing to intervene when she levels a challenging look over to Adam; he tenses and glowers back at her. Lori smirks, disentangling herself from Nate’s arms and stalking over towards him with a sway in her hips that Adam pointedly attempts to ignore, disapproval in his glare. She comes to a stop in front of him, looking up through her lashes with an examining gaze; the mistletoe, not raised, but held securely by her side. Tense and unamused is a normal look for Adam, especially around her, but the eyes subtly darting around to the rest of the team and the ever-rising flush across his face? It doesn’t feel like it normally does when she riles him up. It’s more than just frustration, more than embarrassment… it’s discomfort. She rests her hand on his arm, drawing his full attention down towards her as she leans closer. He tenses even further, eyeing her with suspicion, but he allows her to speak regardless.

“If it truly bothers you, I’ll stop.”

She meets his gaze with an unwavering solemnity, the playful glint the deep blue normally holds no longer present. A genuine seriousness is set firm in her expression, no traces of teasing or traps to be found. His tension drops a level at the sight; the sudden shift in her tone surprises him, it always does when Lori drops her cheer to slip into the more sedate Dr. Leina Lin, but in this case it is a shift he appreciates. He swallows to wet his throat enough to give a simple reply in addition to an appreciative nod.

“Please.”

She nods at the clipped reply, instantly turning away to place the mistletoe on the desk by her mother with no further commentary. He sends her a small smile of gratitude; one she readily returns with her own smile of understanding. No one can be mad the fun’s over, the rare moment of mutual amiable regard far too nice to be upset by. Clearing her throat to draw the attention, Rebecca begins the meeting properly.

The meeting itself was perfectly uneventful; information was shared, and discussions were had.

After her mother left, the team continued to discuss the meeting, though Lori and Farah didn’t manage to stay on track for very long once Rebecca’s presence had gone. It didn’t take much to convince Adam to end their meeting after that, dismissing Farah and Morgan with likely important tasks that Lori will later sheepishly admit she didn’t listen to. 

Lori sat on the arm of the chair, resting her chin on her hand as she blew a strand of her hair in boredom. Nate had been held behind to talk to Adam, and while she was happy to wait, as evidenced by her continued presence, she was also nothing if not impatient. She hummed thoughtfully as she observed them, Adam less closed off than usual clearly discussing something he felt needed to be done with a genuine openness, and her dear Nate barely attempting to hide his smile behind his hand – it reassured her slightly to know he wasn’t being held back to discuss something negative, at least. Her musing was interrupted by a summons, Adam beckoning her over to the desk with little preamble. Both men shake their head with amusement as she groaned, dragging her feet towards them, the mutterings under her breath a mixture of languages that quickly become indistinguishable. She looks up at the commanding agent with a pout and one eyebrow raised with apparent disinterest. She suddenly freezes when she feels his lips upon her cheek, her eyes widening in shock having not even registered his bending down. The light touch is brief, but long enough to send her completely reeling in confusion. She can barely stutter out a word, her fingers already reaching up to touch the spot he kissed, before he lets a chuckle slip.

“Happy Holidays, Dr. Lin.”

She dazedly takes the mistletoe he places in her hand, not noticing his smug smile as he walks off. Nate can only laugh as he watches the surprise on Lori’s face change into a bright beaming smile, the mistletoe clutched tightly to her chest. She bounces on her heels, her face entirely lit up, as she turns to address him.

“He’s totally warming up to me, right?”

Nate draws her into his arms, still laughing at the sheer joy he doubts she even realises is in her voice.

“You most certainly are both warming up to each other, yes.” he answers fondly, placing a soft peck to the top her head. She lets out a happy giggle, snuggling further into his embrace, while down the hallway Adam chuckles to himself at the overheard conversation, a soft smile upon his own face.

~~~*~~~*~~~

The wonderful Sosolenoo actually did an amazing commission for this piece for me; [Link Here!!!](https://gloynporslen.tumblr.com/post/638866358574137344/amazing-commission-by-the-darling-sosolenoo)  
Please look if you're interested and give her so much love, [her page is here](https://sosolenoo.tumblr.com/), she does wonderful artwork!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much if you’ve made it this far! I hope it wasn’t too much of a chore! Thank you, truly, for your time 💕  
> This was originally posted on my Tumblr.


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